How to survive a 3yo and baby

[Blueowlnight]

I have a 3yo and 7mo and I am burnt out. I need your tips - how do you survive?!!! Seriously, what has got you through this period?

Between the hourly wakes, persistent toddler demands from morning to night, and constant household chores (made longer by trying to juggle doing them with two kids in tow), life just feels like a relentless, stressful drag.

I spent most of this morning crying, and I really shouted at my toddler at one point when she woke the baby from his nap. My baby won’t settle with dad so I’ve only been out twice since he’s born (for a couple of hours each). I do all the nightwakes as breastfeeding. I do most of the chores and cooking as he’s not home till 6 when the kids need to eat.

We have no family nearby. Toddler usually in childcare 3 days a week and I’m aware we’ve not had childcare for three weeks due to Xmas hols and sickness, which is probably contributing, plus both kids have just had the cold.

Please send help (or ideas!)

Sleep train the baby.

Get outside as much as possible. OK, maybe not when it's freezing like today! But in general, there's less whinging (and it's more bearable) in the park.

And remember it gets better - mine are now 4 and 18 months, and they genuinely entertain each other (for very short periods!).

Bonne chance.

It will get so much easier, wait till they start playing, it will happen sooner than you think..
Coffee, walks in the double buggy so both of them are contained and you can breathe..TV so you can have a nice lunch and reset..
Batch dinners, we make like 40 over two weeks..
Always take time in the evening even just for a shower and TV

Streamline jobs so you're not doing more than you need to, simple things like no shoes inside mean floors stay cleaner for longer..

And I would say don't sleep train the baby, that's my preference but make sure you're only feeding for hunger and not comfort

Yeah get outdoors as much as possible

Get eldest back to nursery

One day at a time

How much does your partner do? Could he adjust his hours at work at all so that he can be home earlier? Maybe in work earlier? He could put in a flexible working request.

Dh was fully hands on so I didn't feel as overwhelmed as I knew all the time he was home he was sharing the responsibility and we would also tag team, so he gets a break, I get a break. That meant a fed baby would be taken out with the 3 year old out of the house to give me a break from even hearing it.

Dh would come home for the whole dinner, bath and bed but would work for an hour in the evening. He would also cook dinner and we would batch cook so we had lots of just dump in the slow cooker meals ready to go.

It isn't easy especially because you are the only one who can feed your child right now. It is a slog but it does get easier and your 3 year old being back at nursery will help.

You know what, I’m also a mom of two, and I feel you!! It is really exhausting caring for both kids at the same time. I’ve been there before. There’s an article someone sent me that I really like, and it helped me a lot. I can send you the link, but not sure if I can link here! It taught me about managing my baby’s sleeping patterns and how to create a bedtime sleep routine. You also need to be patient and calm.Having a few moments of respite is rare for us mothers you know. Hope this helps!